STATEN ISLAND ADVANCE | October 25, 2015

Day of the Dead Festival in West Brighton draws hundreds

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.

— Hundreds of people attended the all-day El Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) Festival at Our Lady of Mount Carmel-St. Benedicta School in West Brighton on Sunday.

The free festival, now in its 23rd year, began in the morning with the construction and decoration of two ofrendas (altars) to honor the dead, and continued into the afternoon with traditional live music and dancing, and craft workshops led by folk artists.

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday during which family and friends gather to pray for and remember deceased loved ones. Visitors at Sunday’s festival were asked to bring photos of deceased loved ones and objects that they held dear.